"Concerning America The
Beautiful"
By Janhett T.
Windglows
I would like to inspire the
readers of this written material, by painting in their minds several scenarios
and or pictures of some of the ways I think about and see America in my mind's
eye and my spiritual eyes, so that perhaps I can inspire the reader to see the
same or something similar with their spiritual eyes, and hopefully the reader
can still see the beauty, honor, respect, and magick of America as it once was, many, many years ago.
When America comes to mind, I think
back on what it must have been like for the very first time our forefathers
landed on American soil, and how excited they were to discover for the very
first time, America the new world, and explore the new and beautiful land of the
free.
I think about early settlers
finishing up their chores for the day, having a pioneer supper, then relaxing
out on their porch just to look at the stars in the night sky, and dream about
their happy future in this great country of ours while their children laughed
and played a simple game of hide and seek in the last moments of the setting
sun.
They were not rude or disrespectful
to either of the parents, they did not argue with their parents about not coming
in for dinner or not having time to eat because they were too busy sending
tweets over the computer or talking on their android cellular phone only to slam
their bedroom door in their mother's face so their friend on the phone would not
embarrass them by overhearing her call the daughter to the dinner table to eat.
Back in the day, America had sound, simple, true and honorable moral values that
were instilled in their children and passed down for generations to come. That
was then, but now?
I visualize the American Indians and
how proud and bold they were when they rode their half wild mustang horses
bareback across the free, unbridled, wide open plains. There is no feeling in
the world like the excited anticipation of freedom and moving into a new and
exciting future, the adventures, come what may, for life was free and beautiful
long ago in America.
The American plains Indians would
hunt for their families then return, and the women of their tribes would prepare
the meat of the hunt, then they would all sit down and eat together while
hearing sounds of the great horned owl hooting somewhere out there in the
darkness, while getting warm and falling asleep by the fire. The next day when
the sun rose just at day break, the women would gather their water jars and
journey down to the river to gather their family's drinking water for that day.
I think about the first small towns,
the town general store, the town sheriff, or a newcomer that just arrived to the
area and buying a buckboard with a horse and all the tack you needed with it
all, for only ten dollars. Purchasing a bolt of fabric to make all your
children's summer clothes for fifty cents.
Children did not have to have brand
name Nike tennis shoes that cost two hundred dollars a pair for the top of the
line Nikes before they would even think about setting foot in the classroom when
school started or if they did not get top of the line Nikes they would not even
go to school, but instead scream at their parents and lock themselves in their
room until the Nikes were presented to them, just to get them to attend school.
Good moral values, respect, and honor. It was the right thing to do, for the
whole family.
I think about beautiful lady's
bonnets with pretty, feminine looking lace trim that they wore hundreds of years
ago. Long pioneer dresses, gingham, aprons, simple leather shoes,
hand knitted socks, outside family picnics, by a beautiful lake all afternoon.
The fare consisting of perhaps some home made sandwich bread, ham, lettuce and
tomatoes that were harvested with love from a carefully tended garden. No
children were throwing temper tantrums because their parents did not buy them a
Mc Donald's Happy meal so they could fit in with the rest of their friends
during lunch or play time.
Think about the resounding strength
in conjunction with that iron clad truth and honor of America long ago and if
you will, picture in your mind a nervous young man paddling a lovely young lady
down the quiet lake in an old fashioned wooden canoe, getting ready to propose
marriage to her. The two of them getting married, choosing their land on which
they were to build their pioneer cabin, the neighbors spending days on end in a
tireless effort to help their new neighbors build their dream cabin.
In those days long ago, neighbors
helped one another, and were there for each other when one was in need whether a
wife was about to give birth, to having a quilting bee, helping can the summer
crops of fresh vine tomatoes, potatoes, or help care for the farm animals of a
neighbor if someone became too ill to do their chores themselves.
It was not a matter of the wife hen
pecking her husband to the point where he had to work three jobs just to buy her
the expensive home in the clicky neighborhood of her choosing just so the young
wife could be rated highly in a certain social circle of her so called
"friends." Life back in that day was based on what is right, honorable, true,
and good. Never to hurt or undermind, or betray for the sake of mere shallow
self gain.
They did not need "Life Alert"
buttons, they had integrity, respect, and honor. They were there for one
another, never betrayed one another, never thought about stealing out of each
other's homes if they were sitting in the living room of a neighbor that was
sick. Great Grandmother's fine silver ware was laid out on display depicting
the honor of a matriarch of an entire family, and that very silver ware of Great
Grandmother's represented her journey to that new America, the first silverware
that her young family ate their supper with, fifty or more years before.
It was not a matter of the value of
the silver itself, it was a matter of preserving a sacred memory of one of their
forefathers who took the decision upon themselves to sell everything to come to
America. America, the land of opportunity and the land of plenty. The land of
honor and respect. Now come back to the present times and look around. What
happened to our beautiful America that was famous all over the world for
instilling and promoting the best morals, honor and respect? What ever happen to
doing the right thing not only for your own sake, but for the sake of others
around you?
Think of Great Grandmother and the
great wisdom and honor she represented having and then that honor being passed
to her family by them continuing on that honor for the elderly that had passed
by keeping those things that they used and passed down to several generations
intact and to be admired, not stolen and sold at a pawn shop for a few dollars
so one could buy drugs or alcohol because an addict needed a "hit." One could
never imagine Great Grandmother's antique silver being melted down and sold by
it's weight back in those days long ago. To do the right thing, was to do the
honorable thing. What a concept, isn't it? Especially in this day and
age.
Let's go back to the wild country, on
the wide open plains again. Picture the young wife expecting her first born,
looking so beautiful, being so happy and radiant walking around her new
homesteaded land thinking about how wonderful it was having the gift of being
married, the gift and responsibility of properly raising a family, the great
honor of passing down and instilling the same honor and truths that Great
Grandmother did, while she admired her husband while the afternoon breezes
whisped through her waist length hair while the incredible perfume of fields of
fresh spring tulips danced across the peaceful quiet plains amidst the tall
grass.
How happy, beautiful, and simple life
was then, long, long ago. Marriage back in those days was a sacred thing,
something that lasted a lifetime for two people. And the two would grow old and
gray together and be just as much in love as the first day they
met.
Night time hours would entice big
game animals to come out of hiding to search for food, or simply to cool
themselves off after a warm summer's day sleep. Mountain lions walking with
their young by their side, mother lion with her cute wild cubs tagging along
beside or behind her as she taught them how to hunt for food.
Pioneers sat in silent hiding and
admired them from a distance, and game them room to grow and raise their young.
Never considering having to hunt them especially mothers with their
young. There was once a time that humans and animals got along and respected
one another's boundaries. Very seldom if ever were baby mountain lion cubs left
to fend for themselves because a poacher decided to hunt the mother mountain
lion to sell the animal skin simply to make a quick profit from it, while
leaving the cubs to other wild animals unprotected. Baby mountain lions need
their mother just like human babies need theirs.
Young bear cubs walking out of their
winter bear den for the very first time, seeing the sun, and basking in the
warmth of it, experiencing the wonder of nature, and instantly becoming a part
of it, a part of it forever from the first moment they opened their eyes. Then
once adults, climbing upon a rocky cliff to look out over the Wyoming plains,
perhaps. Being kings and queens of their natural and wild world. Having the
respect of the hunter, and the hunter having respect for them, poaching was not
even in the vocabulary back in those early days.
It was only the beauty of
experiencing life, and nature's beauty. Of course if there were problems among
the settlers, they discussed it amongst their families privately in a civilized
manner and worked things out simply and to a successful and quick conclusion
that worked for the good of everyone. The elders of the families had the final
say, and everyone else respected that, and were happy to abide by
it.
There were no drive by shootings, no
bombings, no taking anyone hostage for a ransom, no breaking into someone's
house and ripping off all their furniture or stealing their life savings.
Families stayed together, friends remained loyal friends for a lifetime, there
was never any room or even so much as a thought of jealousy, taking out revenge,
killing, stealing, or the like. In fact, back in those days the thought of such
a thing did not even enter their minds once. Then once the problem was
resolved, everyone was all the more happier, so they prospered and spiritually
grew and evolved with one another even more.
We as a nation can get back to the
simpler ways of life and happiness again. Mabie not to the extent of the
pioneer days, that would not be appropriate of course, but at least back to the
way of life where people respect each other's boundaries, help one another, and
do not commit crimes against one another merely to gain some sort of financial
or material profit. Surely if the laws in this great nation are changed and
modified so as to show and enforce laws to protect the innocent citizen instead
of the criminal and on top of that adding insult to injury by even allowing the
criminal to actually profit off the suffering of the innocent
person?
As the great man, George Washington
once said long ago, " Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder."
Moreover George Washington a man of great and deep wisdom also said, "Happiness
and moral duty are inseparably connected." Even George Washington knew that to
have true happiness, one must have true happiness in conjuction with good and
sound morals.
I believe George Washington was one
hundred percent correct when he said,"If we desire to avoid insult, we must be
able to repel it, if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful
instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times
ready for war." What George Washington meant when he made these statements
was, America will surely prosper, but we must protect what we have and take
measures to protect what we as Americas have, that is right and true, or else
suffer the consequences.
George Washington also made a famous
quote of, " Laws made by common consent must not be trampled on by
individuals." In other words, we must not down trod the sacred laws of our
land, the laws of the Constitution, and we must put the laws in perspective.
What good are laws if the government allows those who are unjust, disrespectful,
and dishonorable to down trod them? Our country is failing because of our
allowing these very things that one of our great forefathers, President George
Washington knew about, even all those many years ago.
One last famous quote of President
George Washington, " Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own
government." Meaning we as an American body of people must have sound
government. Ever notice how chaotic things become when a hurricane or tornado
hits?
People start looting, stealing,
sometimes killing others, as if they change and mutate into animals or better
yet, sub humans, out of greed, fear, and mostly because their lack of some sort
of law or governing body that requires them to instead of steal, loot, etc. when
a disaster occurs but help one another, and stick together in order to make sure
everyone survives the tornado, hurricane, or other type of
disaster.
How should America govern this great
country? How are deep moral values set? It starts at an early age. One more
famous quote from President Washington, if I may, " My mother was the most
beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my
success in life to the moral, intellectual, and physical education I received
from my mother." What a profound statement. This should tell us right now that
yes, it starts early by setting an example and as it were with Great
Grandmother, be a leader, a role model, a friend to your children, start early.
Govern them, raise them up to be
great. Pass on your greatness to them. In order to be great, we must sometimes
learn and then become great, as greatness, honor, and sound moral values do not
happen overnight and are not always passed down, but it is never too late for a
wake up call, and never too late for positive changes that will ensure that the
children we raise and pass our legacies on to will be the future great leaders
of America The Beautiful.
In order to have security, sound
moral values, honor, respect, we must properly govern our great country. Let's
change our laws for the better and get them up to date with our Constitution of
today. Let freedom ring, America. It is time to take a stand !
-Jan Windglows
